Midland Aviation area open to community

One of several educational boards around the Discovery Area at Jack Barstow Municipal Airport. The boards share information about aviation-related topics. (Niky House/for the Daily News)

One of several educational boards around the Discovery Area at Jack Barstow Municipal Airport. The boards share information about aviation-related topics. (Niky House/for the Daily News)

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One of several educational boards around the Discovery Area at Jack Barstow Municipal Airport. The boards share information about aviation-related topics. (Niky House/for the Daily News)

One of several educational boards around the Discovery Area at Jack Barstow Municipal Airport. The boards share information about aviation-related topics. (Niky House/for the Daily News)

Midland Aviation area open to community

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There are several things to look forward to this fall in Midland, including the new Whiting Forest Canopy Walk. But there is another space in town that could also have locals looking up.

Members of the Midland Aviation Education Association hope locals will take advantage of the dedicated space next to the airport terminal building, which was created for the public to enjoy.

The location offers a place to watch planes takeoff and land, a covered picnic area, and several educational boards and a concrete compass, to help with learning about aviation.

Tonight, there will be an Adams Flight Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Third- through fifth-grade students with their families will attend a free STEM-related event at the airport. There will be many "stations" for the youth to visit with hands on aviation- and science-related themes. There will be aircraft on display as well as planes flying in the pattern.

More than 40 volunteers will be on-site to assist. Food is being supplied by Adams PTO parents.

Discussions for the space, known as the Midland Community Aviation Discovery Area, started years ago. But the plans came together in 2014 with the formation of a volunteer committee. Founding members are Jim Cordes, Dot Hornsby, Matt Janson, Bonnie McManus, Brian McManus, Chuck Plessner and John Swantek.

“Originally the purpose of the MCADA committee was to create a venue where Midland area residents could come and enjoy their airport. Jack Barstow airport is a community asset, and we wanted the community to have access and feel welcome,” said Cordes, of Midland.

After the grand opening in 2016, the MAEA was created.

“Later that year the committee formed the Midland Aviation Education Association ... a non-profit corporation, to manage the facility in the coming years,” said Cordes, who serves as president.

Along with providing a dedicated space for the public, the group had more in mind.

“In addition, our vision was to use the MCADA as a way to introduce school-age kids to STEM education themes through the appeal of airplanes and aviation,” he explained.

Working with local organizations, the group set out to do just that. One example included Siebert Flight Night, which was held in May.

Ava Nelson, an eighth-grade student at the time, at Jefferson Middle School, coordinated the event. Nelson, a participant of SVSU’s Chief Science Officer program, helped plan Flight Night for third through fifth-graders at Siebert Elementary.

Aviation and space-related activities were available for students, who could also climb through the permanent airplane display.

The MAEA hopes to see many more events such as these.

Dot Hornsby, secretary of the MAEA, is also a pilot.

“I taught math at Jefferson Intermediate,” Hornsby said. “I taught for 26 years, mostly ninth-grade algebra … and then I became a pilot.”

After her husband died, she took flying lessons, which helped with the grieving process.

“After I retired and my children were all raised, I lost my husband to cancer,” she said. “Learning to fly was my grief therapy … I was older when I learned to fly, but it helped me to get through some tough times.”

Always the teacher, Hornsby hoped to educate others about aviation. Aside from forging the path for the discovery area at Barstow — years before it came to be — she also started Midland Aviation Camps for youths.

Traditionally, the camps were for seventh- through 12th-grade students, but this year camps were offered to 10th through 12th-graders. Campers are introduced to the worlds of aviation and space through activities as well as speakers.

“The camps are not meant to teach them to fly, but to give them a general, broad scope of aviation,” Hornsby said. “We’ve had speakers from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) … we’ve had two World War II veterans who landed on aircraft carriers.”

Both Hornsby and Cordes mentioned Chapter 1093 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and their help with local efforts.

Hornsby described the group as “an international organization for aviation enthusiasts.”

The EAA offers youths between ages 8 and 17 a free airplane ride on the second Saturday of each month. The group also hosts other activities and members volunteer at MAEA events such as Siebert Flight Night.

“The local Midland chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association is a key partner in our efforts and can always be counted on to provide pilot volunteers to help out during special events,” Cordes said.

For more about local EAA activities visit EAA Chapter 1093 on Facebook.

To reserve the Midland Community Aviation Discovery Area, call 989-835-3231, or visit kikw.com/calendar.html to reserve online. The space is free and open to the public.